Whumptober 2022

NO. 20 - IT’S BEEN A LONG DAY

Going Into Shock | Fetal Position | Prisoner Trade

Contains: referenced panic attack, team whump, referenced captivity

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None of them know.

They don’t know, really, what it’s like to be held prisoner by Whumper. When the news comes in that Citizen has been captured, of course they’re all concerned. Whumper is sadistic, unpredictable. They could do any number of horrible things to an unprepared innocent like that. Which is why they immediately move to come up with a plan to rescue them.

But none of them actually know what’s happening in the depths of Whumper’s fortress.

Except for Whumpee.

And that’s why they volunteer. They can’t stomach the thought of anyone else going through that horror, so even though they have a panic attack in their room right after the plan is finalized, even though they haven’t been able to eat or sleep since, they agree to take Citizen’s place. Their hands are shaking and their legs are numb and they want more than anything to turn and run back to the safety of their team’s arms, away from Whumper’s hungry gaze, but they walk forward. Never looking back, not even sparing Citizen a glance as they pass in the center of the open field.

And their team lets them go. Because yes, Whumpee has already lived through the nightmare of being Whumper’s prisoner once, and barely lived through it…

But none of them know.

(Day 3 of Whumptober 2021)

Taglist: @darthsutrich , @inky-whump , @lave-whump

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Fandom: Original work

Warnings: lady whumpee (no whumper), referenced fantastic prejudice, referenced panic attack, referenced homelessness, panic, touch repulsion, trauma

No. 3 - STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES BUT…

taunting | insults | “Who did this to you?”

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Nari and Jamil sit at the kitchen table for a long time after Liliana rushes out, lost in their own thoughts. Jamil is probably berating himself for feeding the kid bacon, and Nari knows she should talk to him about it, but she can’t seem to pull herself out of her own spiral of, What do we do? How can we possibly fix this…fix her?They’re in way over their heads. Yeah, they all came into this team with their own types of trauma, but not like this. She’s not a therapist. None of them are. That’s what the kid probably needs, a therapist, but somehow she gets the feeling the suggestion wouldn’t go over well.

Jamil is actually finally the one to break the stormy silence. “Um, do you want some breakfast?”

Normally she’d get it herself but he needs something to do right now, something to make himself feel better about what just happened. “Sure. What you’re having is fine.”

He busies himself getting out eggs and firing up the stove.

“You had no way of knowing.”

He nods without turning around. “Yeah, I know. Still feel bad, though.”

“I know.” She sighs, drums her blunted fingernails on the table top. “It’s gonna take time.”